IMC auctions cattle market in sector I-12/4 Islamabad

Puts municipal land under the hammer to make quick profit in Eid season

Shahzad Anwar August 16, 2017

A vendor weighs a goat ahead of Eidul Azha while a woman prefers to take a selfie with a lamb. PHOTO: ONLINE

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to generate revenue, Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) on Tuesday auctioned a cattle market in sector I-12/4.

A total of 33 enterprises participated in the bidding process. Khaksar Enterprises, having submitted the highest bid of Rs72 million, won the contract while the second and third highest bidders offered Rs70 million and Rs69.5 million to attain the contract. Last year, the contract had been awarded for Rs23.5 million.

While IMC will be generating three times more revenue ahead of Eidul Azha, capital residents have voiced concern that it will put added burden on the buyers.

DMA officials claimed that that the departments concerned would ensure proper sanitation and provision of basic facilities at the cattle market, including water, fodder and other necessary facilities. Local government will also arrange ambulance service for the market to meet any untoward incident or any emergency, they added.

A cattle trader Zaman, however, refuted the claims made by the officials, stating that last year the availability of basic facilities in the cattle market were very appalling.

According to the contract, the designated area will remain under the contractor’s control for 20 days. The corporation has already received 25 per cent of the total payment.

This is the DMA’s second auction after its devolution from the CDA to the IMC and will be responsible for making all arrangements in the market.

The contractor would charge Rs500 for big animals such as cows, buffaloes and camels while Rs250 will be charged for keeping smaller ones to the market. In addition, cattle merchants would be charged Rs143 as rent per square yard.

Sources told The Express Tribune that area designated for the market is uneven and said it would be difficult to establish the market within the given time. It might create hurdles for capital residents to get their sacrificial animals ahead of the religious festival, they added.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2017.